"Oh? That's so unlike her. Did Rachel ask for a leave of absence for something?" asked the director.
Mindy shook her head. "I don't know. She didn't tell me."
Meanwhile, Rachel was driving to the hospital where Jack was. She sneezed twice in a row while
talking to Jack over the phone. "Where are you?" he asked
"I'm almost there."
Rachel finally realized Jack's propensity for clinginess. He stayed in the hospital for two days on
account of his fever. She couldn't believe how she had to file for a leave of absence to fetch a fully
grown man from the hospital and bring him home.
She shook her head. 'He really is shameless.'
When she arrived at the ward, Jack had already prepared everything and was waiting for her.
Rachel took a deep breath and asked, "Where are we going?"
"Go home first. I need to go to the company then."
Hearing this answer, Rachel remembered passing by a man at the door. She frowned and asked, "Why
didn't you ask Austin drive you home, then?"
Jack smiled and replied, "I don't want him."
"Why not?"
"I only pay Austin only one salary, which is for functioning as my secretary. I don't pay him to act as my
personal assistant and to take care of me. It would be unfair to make him do something that's outside
of his job description."
Rachel couldn't help but roll her eyes.
She stretched out her hand toward Jack, palm upturned. "What about my salary?"
"Don't worry, I will give it to you." Jack patted Rachel on the palm, and suddenly something was on it.
When she saw car keys, she asked, "So this is all I get?"
At this time, a nurse appeared at the door of the hospital room with a patient's guardian. She pointed
inside and said, "The patient can stay in this room. Please head to the nurse station later to go through
admission procedures."
After she finished speaking, she started in surprise at the sight of two people still in the room. "Mr. Fu,
you haven't packed up yet?"
"We're about to leave," Jack replied with a nod toward the nurse.
Rachel slid behind the wheel and punched in the address into the GPS. Just as she was about to start
the car, Jack changed the address on the navigation system.
She thought for a few seconds and asked, "You don't live in the villa you used to live in anymore?"
Jack adjusted the back of the chair and leaned back. "I sold it."
The property had already been listed for sale a long time ago. As for the reason, he looked at the
puzzled expression in her eyes and smiled faintly. "This house is better than that villa. You will definitely
like it."
Rachel looked at him in astonishment. "Why would it matter whether I like your house or not?"
The house was located on the edge of a lake in the western part of the city, in an area with good
environment. The decoration of the house was a departure from his usual style. Under the dim yellow
light, the house looked warm and cozy.
Was the house really his?
Her eyes clearly showed what she was thinking.
Jack raised his hand and patted her head. With a smile on his face, he walked over to a window and
pulled open the gauze curtain. "In fact, the hospital you work in is very close by. Didn't you notice?"
"Did you move to make it more convenient for you to find me?" Rachel stepped toward Jack, a sly look
in her eyes.
Jack was infatuated with her. Rachel had never seen him look at her like this. He gently slipped his
arms around her from behind and rested his chin on her shoulder. Then, he said in a deep voice, "No."
She turned her head and pretended to be disappointed. "Looks like I'm flattering myself."
A smile tiled up a corner of his lips. "No, it's for you, but not for that reason."
"Then..." Before she could figure it out, Jack turned her to face him.
For a loaded moment, their eyes met.
Jack gently stroked her lips with his fingertips. He sighed, "We didn't have good memories in that villa.
Why should I keep it?"
Memories?
Frowning slightly, Rachel racked her brains for recollection. Suddenly, she blushed. She raised her
hand and hit Jack's chest.
She had already forgotten about that. If he hadn't mentioned it all of a sudden, she wouldn't have
remembered it.
Even so, she was surprised and moved at how Jack seemed to have attached great importance to their
relationship. Before he could react, she stood on tiptoe and gently kissed him on the lips.
Staring up at Jack's twinkling, teasing eyes, she suddenly realized what she had just done. She
covered her mouth with her hands and looked up at him with a playful glint in her eyes. Then, she
quickly walked to the door, picked up the luggage, and fled to the bedroom. "I'll help you put your things
in your room."
Jack followed her and leaned against the door. He watched Rachel, and the gentle expression in his
eyes gradually bled out to be replaced by something more intense.
The bay windows let in a gentle breeze. The bed was decked in floral-print bed linens, fresh curtains,
and a snow-white fur blanket, on which dozens of dolls were neatly placed.
On the dressing table were skin care products, cosmetics, and all things that women might need.
Feeling oddly derailed, Rachel stopped and slowly turned her head to ask him, "Am I in the wrong
room?"
"No."
With a meaningful smile, he strode to the dressing table, picked up a bottle and looked at it. "If my
memory serves me right, this is the brand that you use, isn't it?"
"Yes. Are they for me?" Rachel asked with a tentative note in her voice.
"Who else?"
He gently took the bags she was holding from her and placed them on the floor. Then, he took her by
the hand and led her toward the wardrobe. Jack pushed the sliding door open, revealing a full
wardrobe. Half of the contents were men's wear, while half were women's clothes. Some of the tags
were still exposed.
He picked up one of the dresses and held it against her frame. "These were all purchased according to
your preferences, and they should be the correct size."
All of these were prepared for her.
Staring at him quietly, Rachel asked slowly, "When did you prepare these things?"
"Yesterday," he replied in a soft voice.
After a moment of silence, he read the confusion in her eyes and smiled. "You went to work yesterday,
so I came back to prepare these."
Her heart skipped a beat.
Jack lowered his head and touched his forehead against hers. With a faint smile still lingering in his
eyes, he murmured, "The house was decorated three years ago, but I haven't had a chance to move
in."
His tone was very calm, but Rachel felt a warm stream of emotion instantly rush to her chest. Her eyes
misted as they gazed back at his.
Three years ago, unaware of Jack's vasectomy, she had been in a good relationship with him, and the
two of them had discussed when to have a baby. They had talked about moving to a bigger house in
the future.
There was a master bedroom, a study, a children's room, and a toy room.
Rachel gently pushed him away, turned around, and walked out of the room. She stood on the corridor
and counted four rooms in total.
She opened the doors of the rooms one by one and found that the pattern was exactly the same as
what they had discussed in the past.
Apparently, those words had not been empty.
Rachel's nose started to run slightly. She clung to him tightly and rested her head on his chest. She
could clearly hear his steady heartbeat. At that moment, she felt at ease.
Jack gently stroked her hair and said in a low voice, "Rachel, move in and live here with me."
Live together? With him?
Stunned, Rachel pushed him away and took two steps back to keep a certain distance from him.
Seeing that he was staring at her with deep eyes, she averted her eyes and said, "I'm fine with my
current living arrangements."
"How could you be comfortable living in a rented house?" Jack continued to persuade her. "You just
asked for a salary. This house plus myself will be your salary this time. Is that acceptable?"
"Wouldn't that mean a loss for you?"
"It's a blessing to suffer losses. I'm willing to suffer losses."
The passion in Jack's eyes gradually focused into an intense ray of light. Feeling that her cheeks were
a little hot, Rachel reluctantly replied, "Are you serious, Jack? I think you only want me to continue to
be your servant and follow your orders. Am I correct?"
"No! I will be the one following your orders from now on. You tell me to go east, and I will never step a
foot to the west."
Jack raised his hand and gently touched her lips with his thumb. He lowered his head and gently set
his lips against hers in a soft kiss.
At night, the moon was flickering under the cover of dark clouds. Only the cold moonlight filtered in
through the gaps between curtains. Suddenly, a woman's voice broke the silence.
Rachel wrapped herself in a bath towel and looked carefully around the bathroom. Before taking a
shower, she had already taken out her pajamas from the wardrobe, but she forgot to bring them in.
She roared, "Jack, I forgot my pajamas. Can you bring them to me?"
"Are they on the bed?" Jack asked, then his eyes landed on the forgotten bedclothes.
He picked them up and pushed the bathroom door open.
All of a sudden, a gust of cold air blew around her. Rachel hunched her shoulders, quickly grabbed the
pajamas from his hand, and covered her chest. "Why do you enter just like that?" she asked with a
squeak.
"Does it matter?" Jack curled his lips and gave her a gentle kiss before he turned around and left the
bathroom with a satisfied look on his face.
"Jerk!"
Running a towel over her wet hair, Rachel sat in front of the dressing table and looked at her reflection
in the mirror. A smile lurked in her eyes and brows, and the blush on her cheeks spread to the root of
her ears. Even her earlobes were slightly tinged with pink.
She looked different.
She did not know that Jack silently crept up behind her. He stood quietly, took the towel from her
unresisting hands, and continued to towel-dry her hair. "What do you think of telling by Dad and Mom
the news when we go home for dinner tomorrow?"
She nodded. "Okay."
As soon as Rachel gave Jack her answer, her phone suddenly started ringing. She heard Lea on the
other end of the line saying in an oddly weak voice, "Rachel, where are you right now?"
"At home," Rachel blurted out.
"Why won't you open the door, then?"
'Open the door? Where is she?'
Rachel was about to ask when the other woman continued, "I'm at the door of your apartment now. I've
been ringing the doorbell for so long, but there's no response."
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